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UT Tyler Representatives Attend Homeland Security Conference

Four representatives from The University of Texas at Tyler are attending the Texas Homeland Security Conference Dec. 3-7 in San Antonio, Mike Medders, UT Tyler’s chief of police, announced.

Heath Cariker, Peyton Low, Thomas Pinkerton and Paul Weil are attending the annual conference. Cariker and Low serve as co-coordinators for UT Tyler’s emergency management program.

“UT Tyler is in the process of upgrading our emergency management and preparedness capabilities,” said Medders. “By sending staff to the conference, we are hoping to learn much from others around the state. Our goal is to bring back information that can make UT Tyler safer and better prepare our staff to respond to a disaster.”

Sponsored by the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management, the conference is one of the premier training events for emergency management and homeland security professionals in the United States. The conference features more than 100 workshops and classes on all aspects of emergency management, Medders added.

Governor Rick Perry, agriculture commissioner Todd Staples, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and state health commissioner David Lakey will address the conference.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler offers excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 6,000 high-ability students at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine.